Food, clothes and lottery tickets draw cross-border shoppers

DANBURY -- Trader Joe's on Mill Plain Road, Costco in Brookfield, and whatever station in Danbury is selling gasoline cheaper than in New York state.

That was the itinerary
Carey Gross
was planning to follow Monday morning when she left her home in Somers, N.Y., for a shopping trip across the state line.
"When you live in a town like Somers, you're not really near anything," Gross said as she loaded bags of groceries into the back of her silver sports utility vehicle. "But I like to shop in Connecticut because there is a nicer caliber of help."
Consumers in the Danbury area may flock to Brewster on Sundays to pick up a bottle of wine for dinner or a six-pack for a spur-of-the moment picnic.
But during the week, people from the other side of the state line cross into Connecticut to take advantage of lower prices for necessities like gasoline, to shop at stores, such as Trader Joe's, that don't have stores on their side of the border, or to save money on a pack of cigarettes.
"Trader Joe's and the mall," said Penny Fonde, also of Somers, describing the route she and a few of her neighbors travel on their bimonthly shopping excursions in Danbury.
"I buy most everything in Connecticut," Fonde said. "Clothing, because there is no sales tax, and gasoline, because in Somers, we have the most expensive gas in Westchester County."
In Connecticut, clothing costing less than $50 per item is exempt from sales tax; items costing more than $50 are charged sales tax on the entire price.
In New York, clothing costing less than $110 is exempt from the 4 percent state sales tax, but not the 4 percent tax in Putnam County or the 3.75 percent tax in Westchester County.
The average cost of a gallon of regular gas is about a nickel cheaper here than in New York, according to the

American Automobile Association
. If you're already here shopping, it makes sense to top off the tank in Connecticut, Gross said.
"I have to save money. Look what I'm driving," she said.
One cross-the-border activity that has slowed in recent years is the number of people from Connecticut who travel to border towns such as Brewster to take advantage of 90 minutes of extra drinking time permitted under New York state liquor laws.
"We still get a lot of people. Connecticut bars close at 2 a.m., and in New York, last call is at 3:30 a.m., said Sgt.

David Claytor
, a New York state trooper assigned to the Brewster barracks.
"Before the penalties for drunken driving increased, we used to get about 40 drunks a month" driving back to Connecticut, Claytor said. "But with the higher penalties and public awareness, we probably get about 20 a month now."
Lottery enthusiasts from New York still travel to Danbury to buy lottery tickets, especially when the jackpot for Powerball, which isn't offered in New York state, has been unclaimed for several weeks. Likewise, Connecticut lottery players travel to Brewster when the MegaMillions jackpot gets big enough.
But the traffic isn't as heavy as it was a few years ago, when lines routinely formed outside stores selling the high-stakes tickets.
"Now you can get a lottery ticket anywhere," said a clerk at a Brewster liquor store. "Everybody has a machine."

Sales taxes by state Connecticut -- 6 percent. Most clothing under $50 exempt, full sales tax on all clothing above $50. Massachusetts -- 5 percent. Most clothing under $150 exempt, as well as first $150 on more expensive clothing. Rhode Island -- 7 percent. New York -- 4 percent. Most clothing under $110 exempt, full tax on clothing above $110.